Cosas Llevadas: Inside Life Story Narratives from Latina Mothers of Mexican Descent with High Academic Accomplishment by Anne M. Mulligan A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved November 2018 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Kathryn Nakagawa, Chair Elsie Moore Angela Arzubiaga Elizabeth Blue Swadener ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2018 ABSTRACT The field of developmental psychology often underrepresents Latinx individuals within their corpus of published scholarship. In the area of lifespan identity development this is particularly evident from the scarcity of Latinx life story narratives. In addition, Latinx family parenting styles is an underdeveloped area of scholarship. At the same time, a robust literature base demonstrates that for youth from non-dominant culture families, ethnic racial identity can increase measures of adaptive well-being and academic achievement. Because academic achievement for Latinx students does not proportionately reach levels of educational success as compared to white students, research investigating foundations of ethnic racial identity within Latinx families is warranted. This investigation extends parenting style literature within the field of developmental psychology by exploring inter-generational practices of Latinx families. Participants within this study include mothers of Mexican descent who have earned at least one Master's degree, a level of high academic achievement attained by only 10 percent of the adults within the U.S. Each Latina mother, ranging in age from 36 to 63 years, participated in two or more semi-structured interviews. Protocols were based on McAdams's life story interview; McAdams's life story narrative analysis, based upon Erikson's lifespan theory of identity development, provided a model of analysis. In addition, transcripts of participant interviews, totaling more than twelve hours, were analyzed according to themes of parenting styles and family socialization practices. Familial ethnic socialization was embedded within routines and practices of mothers' families of orientation. Mothers employed a concerted cultivation parenting style within their families of procreation. In alignment with McAdams's framework, mothers narrated i life stories in a redemptive manner. In other words, a negative life event was conveyed as having a positive outcome. Implications from my study inform scholars and can offer usable information for parent and teacher education by means of contextualized family activities and parental practices gleaned from participants’ life story narratives. ii DEDICATION For the Latina mothers who imparted their life stories. Muchas gracias, mis amigas. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Everlasting thanks to each of my committee members for steadfast, ongoing support throughout this dissertation’s completion. In particular, my chair Dr. Kathryn Nakagawa’s unwavering patience and keen guidance made everything possible. I am deeply grateful. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ………. ....................................................................................... 1 Prologue ...............................................................................................................1 Another Note on Title ..........................................................................................2 Significance of Study ...........................................................................................3 Purpose of Research .............................................................................................5 Research Questions ..............................................................................................5 Organization ........................................................................................................6 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ………….......................................................................... 7 Parenting Styles ...................................................................................................7 Baumrind’s Authoritarian, Authoritative, and Permissive Parenting Styles .........7 Lareau’s Concerted Cultivation Parenting Style ................................................ 12 A Commonality of Baumrind’s and Lareau’s Parenting Styles .......................... 17 McAdams’s Redemptive Narrative Storytelling Framework ............................. 19 Chicana M(other)work Framework .................................................................... 20 Integration and Critique ..................................................................................... 21 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .................................................... 24 Research Design ................................................................................................ 24 Participants ........................................................................................................ 24 Data Collection .................................................................................................. 25 v CHAPTER ................................................................................................................ Page Initial Interview.................................................................................................. 27 Interview Settings .............................................................................................. 28 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 29 Positionality of Researcher ................................................................................ 32 Limitations and Parameters of Study ................................................................. 33 Member Reflections ........................................................................................... 34 4 PORTRAITS ........................................................................................................... 36 Margarita ........................................................................................................... 36 Esme .................................................................................................................. 39 Reyna ................................................................................................................. 42 Frida ................................................................................................................... 45 Helen ................................................................................................................. 48 Alazne Pilar ....................................................................................................... 50 Concluding Comment ........................................................................................ 53 5 FINDINGS .............................................................................................................. 55 Mothers’ Foremost Pattern of Storytelling ......................................................... 55 Mothers’ Redemptive Narratives ....................................................................... 57 Resonant Claim .................................................................................................. 64 Crystallization of Resonant Claim ..................................................................... 65 Concerted Cultivation Parenting Style ............................................................... 68 Musicality and Musical Instruments .................................................................. 70 Intergenerational ‘Concerted Cultivation’ of Heritage Language ....................... 70 vi CHAPTER ................................................................................................................ Page 6 DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS ................................................................... 77 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 79 Future Directions ............................................................................................... 80 Implications ....................................................................................................... 82 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 89 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM .......................................................................93 B INTERVIEW 1 AND INTERVIEW 2 PROTOCOLS ......................................... 96 C QUESTIONNAIRE 1 ......................................................................................... 101 D QUESTIONNAIRE 2........................................................................................ 106 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Data Collection Flow Chart ................................................................................ 26 2. Data Analysis Flow Chart .................................................................................. 30 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Prologue This project stems from nearly two decades of work in K-12 schools as a special educator for communities composed of over eighty-five percent Latinx families. A major purpose of this project has been to address an absence of scholarship on middle class Latinx parenting. By conducting basic